Former Mango Tree restaurant in Cocoa Beach to be demolished to make way for new Fat Snook

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The 1920s cottage that once housed the Mango Tree restaurant is slated for demolition Monday. Construction will soon begin on a new building to house the Fat Snook.(Photo: Malcolm Denemark/FLORIDA TODAY)Buy Photo

As of Monday, the 1930s cottage that once housed the popular Mango Tree Restaurant will be no more.

Out of its rubble will rise an urban cottage with a California coastal feel. By the end of the year, the 4,000-square-foot space will house The Fat Snook.

"We've always felt like the Fat Snook deserves a fabulous home," said Mona Foy, who owns the Cocoa Beach restaurant, as well as Crush XI in Melbourne, with her husband John.

Demolition wasn't the first choice for the Foys. They bought the building in October 2016 with plans of renovating it. Plans were drawn up to enlarge the kitchen, raise the ceilings, give the charming old building a complete face lift.

It was like peeling a historical onion. With each layer, they found different paint colors, plumbing from multiple decades and new problems.Several additions had been made over the years, some with proper permits, others without.

The Fat Snook opened in 2007 in a 45-seat space at 2464 S. Atlantic Ave., just south of Cocoa Beach, once occupied by a deli. In 2007, the dining room was enlarged to hold 60 people.

It's small, and parking can sometimes be problematic, but the restaurant has an intimate, cozy feel and a reputation for creative, innovative food. In 2014, celebrity chef Emeril Legasse taped an episode of his Food Network show, "Emeril's Florida" there.

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Hops and Dough in Indian Harbour Beach closed in 2017.The Indian Harbor Beach Italian restaurant ran into trouble soon after opening when the fell behind on payroll, and other issues.A "Re-opening Soon!!!" sign hung on the Hops & Dough door in March 2017. The sign was later removed. RICK NEALE/FLORIDA TODAY

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